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Shop local: This young business owner caters to DMV sneakerheads

Andy Gno got his start in business through landscaping. Sneakers helped him get out of the weeds.

OXON HILL, Md. — We're introducing you to local entrepreneurs and bringing you some of the best places for shopping in the DMV, just in time for the holidays. Sneakerheads, this one is for you!

If you love to hunt for the hottest shoes on the market, talk to Andy Gno. He knows shoes, and he's made it his business at The Drop at National Harbor. 

"The Drop is a storefront that sells exclusive sneakers, hyped clothing — anything collectable with resale value," Gno said. 

The Drop has thousands of shoes, ranging in price from $20 to $200. Some are used, some are brand new. You'll find rare sneakers and classics, and you could even find some that are out of stock. 

"It's buy, sell, trade," Gno said. "It gives us the advantage to cater toward a person's budget."

Gno started out with his own business in landscaping. He decided to get out of the weeds, and took the money he made landscaping and invested it into sneakers.

"As a broke college kid, you're trying to find ways to make money. I was running out of the yardwork money. I was just on YouTube, I saw like a 13-year-old kid dropping $20,000 on shoes. I'm like yo. This kid is 13 years old, I'm over here 19. If he can do that, I can do that.

So he started building his collection, buying sneakers first on Facebook. His collection grew from four, to six, then 10. Now, he has an entire storefront. 

"This resale game is all about your networking," Gno explained. "It's about who you know."

Does he have a favorite pair? He pulls a pair of Nike Air red foamposits off the shelf.

"It's Penny Hardaway's shoe and he's a point guard. I played point guard in high school," he said.

In true basketball fashion, Gno continues to run his business by learning the game. He's doing the footwork to go to more sneaker events in the industry to learn more about the latest and greatest shoes.

Gno said it was hard building his business from the ground up, but he found inspiration in his mom, who is also a business owner.

"She's running a really good business. I can do it too. It gave me a lot of confidence to see my mom do that," he said. 

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